An Apple a Day: How a Dying Industry Invented a Health Myth

An Apple a Day: How a Dying Industry Invented a Health Myth

August 4, 2026 · 22 min · Episode 26

About this episode

The episode explores the origins of the saying 'an apple a day keeps the doctor away' and its ties to a marketing strategy during Prohibition.

An apple a day keeps the doctor away sounds like grandmother's wisdom, but it was a 1904 marketing rescue plan for an industry that had just lost its actual product: booze. Lies We Bought traces the apple from Prohibition-era cider crop to manufactured health symbol, tests the slogan against the 2015 study that actually measured it, and asks why we needed a doctor's approval to eat fruit in the first place. 📱 Follow along on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/LiesWeBought/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lieswebought/ TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@lieswebought LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/lieswebought Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lieswebought/

People in this episode

Host: Emily Rask

Topics covered

Keywords

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Prohibition

Products: apple

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